Dragons: The Elite Defense Artists of The Leaf
by Pazel
Summary: There is a clan whose leader wants nothing to do with the Leaf Village because of a grudge dating back generations. When his middle daughter refuses to listen to him, he decides to let her see how life really works. R
1. A Normal Day

"Hazuki, I am disappointed in your progress as a clan member. What were you _thinking_? We might _live_ in the Leaf Village, but we are not _apart_ of the Leaf Village. When will you realize that we are not to make friends there? Where was your brain? Did you think that you could bring your little brother to the Village, _hang out_ with a few kids, and come home, like nothing happened? You know that's not permitted, and..."

Father dragged on and on about how much of a "disappointment" I was, and how the heir to this "respectable clan" was not to be out "lollygagging" with a bunch of Village kids as if we had "all the free time in the world to do however we pleased" and _blah... blah... blah..._

When the lecture finally ended, I apologized like a good daughter and walked out of the hut, pushing the cloth door out of my face and squinted in the sunlight.

"You get in trouble?" my little brother, Omi, asked. He leaned against the wall of the hut, his back on the chipped sand-yellow paint. He stood to the right of me, arms folded with a guilty look on his face.

"Yup," I replied.

He bit his lower lip. "Sucks."

"Yup."

Haru walked through the trees that bordered the hut and over to us. "Omi. Haz. 'Sup?"  
_  
_I shrugged. "Just got in trouble. I-"

"Haru? Is that you out there?" my father yelled from inside his "Ego Hut", as we called it. The Ego Hut was where he did all of his "Leader of the clan" duty and smoked his pipe with a content look on his face, as if he just had the best sex anyone has ever had.

"Yeah," Haru called in.

"Come here, son. Along with Omi and _my daughter_."

I didn't like the emphasis he had put on "my daughter". It was as if he was repulsed by me being related to him. I scowled, but my face became suspicious as we walked into the hut.

Father began, "Haru, you are the oldest of this three person squad, are you not?"

"Yes, Sir," he answered respectfully, obeying each rule of how to treat the clan leader.

"Then you will watch over Hazuki, right? You will make sure she does not venture into the Village, understood? I'm not a man to ask something of nothing, so I offer her hand in marriage as your reward." Father added the last part as quickly as possible, hoping I wouldn't hear.

Haru and I answered at the same time, with different responses.

"Dad!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Haru! Do you want to die?" I glared at him through my aquamarine eyes. As if the pretty color was intimidating!

He fluttered his thick black eyelashes, his midnight blue eyes staring back at me innocently.

My eyes flickered from him to my father. "Daddy, please-"

"A deal's a deal," Father finished. "No need arguing. It'll be fine. It's a long way until marriage."

"I hate you," I muttered and stomped out of the hut, the sun not bothering my eyes this time.

Omi was on my heels, followed by Haru.

"Sucks for you, Haz." Omi rested his arm on my shoulder.

"Twelve and engaged. I hate this. But, Dad can't possibly mean what he said. He wouldn't do this to me." I nodded and turned to my brother, looking for some comfort.

"Dad'll do what he has to to keep you in line." He frowned as he thought.

"So, I just have to be extra good, then. No problem with that."

Haru laughed.

I smacked him across the face. "Nothing would make me happier than your corpse, Haru. I'd shut up if I were you."

Haru rested one hand on his cheek and jammed his other hand in his pocket. He looked at the ground, his jet black hair shining in the cloudless sky.

"S'okay, Sis. Maybe Haru will die before you have to get married." Omi smiled up at me.

"We can pray," I added, staring angrily at Haru.

--

We walked into the Village. This was, of course, Haru's idea. At first, I had been adamant on the whole I'll-Never-Disobey-My-Father-Again-So-I-Won't-Have-To-Marry-Haru" (AKA: Plan A), but after little to no coaxing, Haru had gotten Omi and I into the Village to stir up some trouble.

Marriage was far away. We should have fun now.

--

I sat next to Naruto and Kiba. Omi sat in front of me and Haru sat next to him. We were sipping from juice boxes after a day of harassing the upper level ninja.

I took a deep breath, calming my overworking heart. "That was fun!"

"Pretty much," Omi commented, his juice dripping down his chin and onto his white shirt, staining it purple. "No! Oh, no!"

I threw back my head and laughed, staring up at the orange sky. I took in a deep breath and smiled. It was nice to be young.

--

As we walked home, Omi sighed. "Too bad it can't be like this forever."

I ran my fingers through his white hair. "Time won't go by so fast. Maybe it'll even stop."

My little brother looked up at me with his pure black eyes scared and uncertain.

**Five months later**

I thought about the day five months prior when I had promised my brother time would stop for us. I frowned, guilty and sad that each moment was bringing our lives further and further down an unknown path.

I sighed, staring at the stars and the large, full moon. The sky was a sheer black except for the dots of silver in the sky and the moon and the silhouettes of the dragons flying back and fourth. I thought back to a day I happened to remember, back before I was a genin.

_"Our clan is the pride of defense artists everywhere," Sensei told us, smoothing her white blouse. "When other students in villages everywhere get headbands and a pat on the back, we become dragons. Our leader, Hazuki's father," she looked at me, "blesses us and the soul of a dragon fuses with our own. Every person gets a dragon, whether or not our lives point to the ninja way."_

Back then, we were captivated by the stories of dragons that would become us, as if we would be new people. We didn't see how terrifying the outcome would be.

_Sensei paused for effect then continued, "Nothing can penetrate the scales of the dragons. You'll never be hurt. Not ever, because your bodies will be tougher than diamonds. And just as shiny. Your old hair and eye color will change. Your hair will be the primary color on your dragon's body; your eyes, the secondary color." Sensei pointed to her hair, which was red, then to her eyes, which were golden. "My dragon is all red, with a golden mane. You will all be beautiful, for beauty is an amazing defense."_

Everybody dreamed of their dragons that night. The girls of what colors they would have and the beauty that would overtake them. The boys dreamed of the strength and agility.__

"Your tears will hold magic. Anyone who sees you crying will be attached to your soul permanently, unable to escape your will.

People do not know this, but dragons are not offensive creatures. You can only defend. To attack is against our ways. That is also why we have natural healing abilities. To protect what we have. We- yes, Hazuki?"

My had was raised high as I asked the question everyone was thinking, "Why do we hate the other clans around us, and the Leaf Village?"

"That is untrue!" Sensei exclaimed, as if we would believe her. When she saw our unbelieving faces, she sighed. "The Leaf Village refuses to recognize our powers. They instead claim the Uchiha Clan to be number one. And that is why we refuse to be apart of the Village."

"Why do we die so early?" Haru asked. He stared Sensei down. She was in her fourties. She didn't have much time left.

Sensei tried to smile, but her lips trembled. "Our healing powers eat at our hearts, and our tear magic push against our brain. The pressures build and build, until we're in our fifties, if that. I am already considered an elder. With the life of a ninja, your maximum will be in your thirties, early fourties. Our leader was a ninja, but he retired to hold on to the clan as long as possible."

"You mean he's a coward," I shot back.

Sensei coughed nervously. "He was forced into retirement. Your big brother will take over after him, then his children, then theirs. They will all be ninjas into their early twenties, late teens, and then they will take over. That's how it's always been, ever since our forefathers decided to break away from the Village. Haz? Haz! There you are, Haz!"

I blinked. I must have fallen asleep, because the sky was an orange-yellow color.

"Haz!"

I turned to see my brother.

"Great news! Dad's gotten us into the Chuunin Exams! They're today!"

I narrowed my eyes. I didn't trust my father.


	2. Poison

Omi and I made our way to Haru's house, passing by all of the houses in the clan. The houses were made of the same clay that made up our father's hut, all hard and a light yellow. Only Father had a hut; it was where the leader always did his leader-ish business.

When we got to Haru's place, we pounded on the front door.

"Get up!" I yelled. I had forgotten by now that I was angry at him.

Haru opened the door and squinted in the light of the early morning sun. He rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"Calm yourself," he muttered, putting his hand over my mouth.

"We can go! Daddy got us Leaf headbands, promising that we could go with the rest of the village, instead of passing here!" I held out a Leaf forehead protector.

"Wait- go where?" He took the headband out of my hand and examined it. "Wow. I never thought I'd get one."

"The Chuunin exams!" Omi yelled.

"Seriously?" Haru answered. He tied headband backwards so the metal leaf was on the back of his head and the tie was on his forehead. "This feels kinda awesome."

I had mine tied so that the metal was covering my right temple, and Omi's was around his neck.

"I know!" I looked around the kitchen. "Get dressed, Haru, and then we have to go."

--

I walked with Omi and Haru to the Chuunin Exams. I wore a white cotton shirt with sleeves that reached past my hands and pink capri pants. Omi wore a white teeshirt under a gray sweatshirt and black long pants. Haru wore a black, fingerless gloves and a black shirt to match. For pants he had a tree-green color.

--

We sat down, spread far apart to take the first test: a written exam. I stared down at my paper, pulling my hair out of my head. This was impossible! How was I supposed to know any of this stuff; I didn't even understand the questions!

My eyes drifted inconspicuously- or so I hoped- to the paper next to me. That person seemed to be having just as much trouble as I was having. Not one answer was written on their test. I calmed considerably. At least I wasn't alone.

I stared down at the first question for what seemed to be hours. Then, the proctor, an older man with a scar, stopped us for the "tenth question". I paid no attention to anything he said, because I was still trying to figure out the answer to the first question.

I had a bad habit of tuning things out.

I looked up only when the other genin began to gasp at his words. My head snapped up as I looked for my teammates. Haru was sitting emotionlessly, but Omi looked like he was going to die. His black eyes were wide with fear, and I began to wonder what was going on.

My attention drifted back to that damned first question when suddenly people began leaving. I saw them moving out of my peripheral vision, but I ignored it. I only snapped out of my frustrated trance when someone came crashing through the window.

My head snapped up at the sound as the new proctor had a small argument with the old one.

Apparently, it was time for the next test.

--

We got our Heaven Scroll and went on our way inside the Forest of Death, running through the trees, until we stopped on a large oak thirty minutes into the game.

"Haz, it's all you," Omi declared.

I jumped to the lowest branch and opened my mouth. A sweet melody poured out, immediately attracting the attention of a three-boy squad. They stood at the bottom of the tree, captivated.

Omi threw three well-aimed kunai that got hit them in different spots, wounding and stunning them momentarily. Haru, in his dragon form, flew out of the tree to pin the boys down. The body of his dragon was a sleek black with a mane and two lightning bolt shaped marks that started at his shoulders and reached down to the small of his back, all the color of midnight blue .

The three boys got on the offensive and dodged Haru, who flew into the ground. Six kunai hit Haru, but they made a _ting _sound and fell to the ground. One bent was bent slightly, which caused the boys to pause out of fear.

The tallest boy snapped out of his fear and grabbed Haru by the tail and swung him with amazing strength. He let go of Haru's tail and sent him flying over the trees. The dragon stopped himself in midair and flew back at his attacker.

I jumped at the middle one, and Omi at the shortest. I wrestled my opponent to the ground, my hands on his, our fingers looped together. In a moment of strength, the boy flipped me over. He was on top now, a grin on his face. For a moment, though about how disgusting this was. I kicked him in the stomach and pushed him off.

"Strong little fucker, aren't you?" he commented, wiping up blood that was dripping down from his lip.

"Weak little fucker, aren't you?" I mocked, hoping to bring on a reaction. This was getting me into the fighting mood, which was dangerous. No one liked a mad dragon.

He ran at me, falcon punching me. My back hit a tree and I slid down two feet to the ground. I didn't open my eyes for a minute, which was a mistake. He had something sharp at my throat within seconds.

"I want your scroll," he whispered.

"Damn you," I whispered back, rubbing my stomach. "I wanna have kids some day." Blood trickled down the back of my neck from where I had hit my head.

Haru roared. He threw himself at my opponent. My eyes were still closed. I heard a scream of pain and opened them to blood everywhere.

The leader of the squad lifted his only remaining, shaky hand and held up a Heaven scroll.

Haru snorted and released his jutsu, becoming human in a puff of smoke.

"Let's go. They're no good." Haru jumped into the next tree. Omi and I followed him.

The three boys hobbled quickly into the trees. As we got further away, we heard the screams of them falling into another trap.

--

"So, the singing technique didn't work," Haru complained. "We could try it again, or we could go in for the kill." Haru was the leader of our group. I didn't have the attention span for the job, and Omi didn't have the strength. The black dragon came up with all of the plans, gleefully showing off his mental power, which greatly surpassed Omi and I put together.

I shrugged. "Whatever makes you happy." My head wound had long since healed, but the ache was still there. I didn't really want to fight anymore.

Omi nodded in agreement with my words.

We continued on for another forty minutes when Haru stopped short. Below him was a team of two boys and a girl. They looked like tiny runts, barely taller than Omi. Omi looked at Haru with wide eyes, and Haru nodded.

"Go for it. If you need backup, we're here," Haru whispered.

"Dragon Transformation Jutsu!" Omi yelled. Starting at the head, Omi's body changed quickly into a dragon. His white hair turned into a mane and scales. As the scales made their way down, black zig-zags formed on a random pattern. The scales formed over his clothes, and his legs morphed together to form a dragon tail. His front arms became small and brittle, and basically useless for anything other than feeding.

He flew out of the tree and headbutted the first person he saw, which was the girl. She flew into a tree and didn't open her eyes again, unconscious from the hit. The two boys pulled out kunai knifes and shuriken, but such things couldn't pierce dragon scales. Omi swept the boys with his tail and they went flying, as well. He flew behind them. I ran to the girl to loot her pockets and found, again, a Heaven Scroll.

"I got it, Omi!," I hollered, waving it in the air. Omi flew back, forgetting the boys. He released his jutsu and jogged over to me. "Let's go. It's Heaven again."

Omi and Haru groaned. "Again?" they complained in unison.

"Yeah," I muttered, putting it back into the girl's pocket.

--

We had been searching for another squad for an hour. We'd been in the forest nearly three hours and no one had an Earth Scroll. I had begun to wonder if anyone had one, or if it was all a stupid trick.

Twenty minutes after that, we found another squad. They were a group of two males and one female.

They looked scarier and more of a challenge, so I called out, "do you have an Earth Scroll?"

"Who wants to know?" the girl replied.

Haru jumped down. Omi and I followed behind him.

"Tell us. We don't want to fight for nothing." Haru stared at the spunky girl, who seemed to be the leader.

The girl pulled an Earth Scroll out of her pocket. "Wanna have a go? Winner gets the scroll?"

Haru smiled and muttered, "finally."

The three of us transformed. The look on the other team's faces was priceless when our bodies metamorphasized into three large dragons. They used jutsus I had never seen before to get to us. They mostly consisted of changing the earth around us to their will. I tried to keep up, tried to listen to everything they said, but it was so strange and new, I couldn't remember.

I flew at one of the boys, a tall, strong guy with a crooked grin and an evil glint in his brown eyes. My mouth was open for me to bite his torso in half. He took out a kunai and shoved it into my throat. I flew backwards, surprised at the sudden pain. Then the blood seeped, and I forgot about the pain. The taste of blood filled my dragon mouth, overwhelming my sense of taste. I let out a roar of pain and writhed in midair. I flew downwards, hitting my head hard on the ground.

I couldn't think as my opponent watched me with an amused look on his face that made me angry. Had I not been bleeding so profusely, I would have wiped that damn smirk off his face.

Omi bit the smaller boy's arm with an angry snap and flew over to me to calm my episode of pain.

Blood filled my throat and burned it. My nose burned with the smell of blood. I couldn't breathe; blood clogged my throat and seeped into my lungs. I took a deep breath of air and blood that made me cough and gag. Soon afterwards, my vision began to go black. I could feel my throat healing, but I didn't have much chakra left. The process was slow, and I was losing a lot of blood.

I was sure I was going to die. I writhed, but soon my body felt too weak to move and I fell to the ground limply.

I couldn't breathe! I couldn't breathe!

Omi bit his thumb and smeared his chakra infused blood on the outside of my throat.

At least I had the presence of mind to think, _oh, great. More blood._

The pain in my throat died down, as if someone had put an ice cube on a candle flame. I was sick on the ground, throwing up blood and saliva. The smell and taste of blood didn't go away, and I found myself shaking my head wildly.

Meanwhile, Haru had injured both the boy and girl by releasing his jutsu and using the Thai jutsu he knew. His chakra must have been low, or otherwise he wouldn't have resorted to that.

Omi and I released our jutsus and listened to what Haru would say.

"I hate having to all go into the fight, and that's why. If Omi hadn't had such a strong hold on that pip squeak, you might not be alive now," Haru muttered. "That's the worst decision I've ever made. We'll never do that again, I promise. I-"

A kunai flew past his ear, cutting it.

The girl stood up. "You are... not getting... my scroll!" she yelled, running at Haru. She threw a punch that hit him in the stomach. He flew backwards and hit a tree.

Omi jumped on her back. With one hand, he held on to her shoulders; with the other, he got out a kunai to hold to her neck.

"Fork it over," he murmured into her ear.

"Never," she growled.

Omi pressed the tip to her neck. "Do it."

"No!" she screamed. I was impressed. She was ready to die before giving up, even though her two teammates were out cold.

I saw my chance. Omi planted his feet firmly into the ground as if he sensed my next movements. I shoved my hand into the pocket where she kept the Earth Scroll and pulled it out. She scratched my face with her long fingernails, drawing blood. Omi flipped the girl as I pulled Haru up and dragged him through the trees to the structure in the middle of the forest.

--

Having already opened the scrolls, we walked around the place for a while. We had a few days, so there was nothing to worry about. We figured we were the only ones there.

"Let's see if they have any food in here," a boy said. He walked by us with a girl and another boy. They stopped for a moment and looked at us.

I nodded shyly. I couldn't speak after that nasty cut to the throat. It even hurt to breathe, but it wasn't like I could go without.

"Didn't think anyone else would finish so quickly. It's only been a few hours," the girl said. She had blonde hair up in four ponytails, a white dress, and, like Omi, her headband was on her neck. On her back was a huge, folded fan.

"We would have been here a long time ago if the first two people we fought had the right scroll," Haru told her. His tone was superior and egotistic. I slapped him upside the head.

"Ow! What the hell?" He jumped to look at me.

I frowned at him and he turned back to the three before him.

The boys were odd. One had a black suit on with a hat that held his forehead protector. There was something on his back that looked like it had hair.

The other was... mysterious. He had serious, deadly blue eyes with exhausted black rims around them. His hair was a blood red color. He had a gourd of some sort on his back made of sand that looked larger than he did. His forehead protector was on the strap on his side. He was short and almost frightening to look at, but I couldn't look away. I stared at him in the eyes, and he stared back, his eyes angry and curious and impatient. He was short, but my age. On his forehead was a tattoo-like scar of the kanji "love". He blinked slowly. He moved slowly. He wasn't in a rush to go anywhere or do anything. I had never seen anyone like him, except maybe Sasuke, but even the Uchiha wasn't as captivating as the boy before me.

I grabbed Omi's arm and wrote on it with my nail. My nail left a white mark for letters. I wrote, "Village"

"What village are you from?" Omi asked. He stared at the red head warily, almost scared.

The girl snorted. "You don't know from our headbands? You Leaf genin are sure stupid. We're from the Sand Village."

Haru looked like he was going to deck her, but he kept himself contained.

The girl laughed, obviously noticing the same thing. "Go on. Hit me. See what happens to you."

"Temari," the red haired boy began, "Stop that. Let's go."

Even his voice was amazing. It was low and mysterious and poison. He was poison.

Her eyes widened. "Right, Gaara," Temari replied.

I wrote on Omi's arm again. It said, "Wait"

Omi didn't say anything.


	3. The Preliminaries Begin

About five days later, the guys and I were fully rested up and ready for the preliminaries.

We stood in an organized mob and were asked if anyone wanted to leave. Three boys raised their hands, but I paid no attention to them really. I was mentally prepping myself.

The first fight began and ended quickly, the remaining Uchiha as the victor.

_Uchiha,_ I thought angrily. _Too bad he wasn't killed, like the rest of his clan. They thought they were so damn great._ I scowled as I watched him being taken to the infirmary, but I couldn't help but smile as Naruto teased him.

More matches began and ended, and my name still wasn't on the screen.

"Look," Sensei said, his voice cold and emotionless as always. I looked up the the screen. The top name said Haru. I smiled, but my smile faded. The bottom name was mine.

I turned to Haru, who was staring at the screen with bewildered eyes.

"Let's go," I whispered, which was the most noise I could make with my throat still knocked up. I began walking, but he was glued to the spot. I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him along.

We stood several feet apart, the proctor in between us.

"Whenever you're ready," the man said, coughing. He jumped away.

For a moment, neither of us moved. I threw a kunai, but Haru didn't dodge it. Was he being suicidal?

"Move, Haru! Do something!" I whispered. I threw one dangerously close to his head, but he still didn't move.

"You wouldn't hit me. Not really," he told me, holding the wound from the first kunai. It had hit his arm, but it was barely bleeding. He began walking towards me. It was a slow walk, but I still felt threatened. I backed up in fear, but Haru didn't pause. He was planning to strike, to take advantage of my inability to hurt him.

_No! He would never do that. Why would I think that?_ A kunai flew. I jerked in response and the blade ran through a few stands of my hair.

_Okay, maybe he would do that._ I began doing the hand signs for my jutsu, which was: dragon, dog, rooster, dragon. Just as I finished, a kunai hit my hands, distracting my chakra flow. My jutsu went wrong.

My fingers had transformed into dragon claws and my hair became a mane. My legs and hands had scales and my face had grown snout-like. My teeth had become fangs and I could roar, but I couldn't talk. I was half dragon in appearance, and my dragon instincts had kicked in. Dragon instincts go as followed: _kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill..._

When a young genin is first allowed to become a dragon, they must first enter a cage made of diamond-encoded steel. In that cage, they are allowed to transform. If they were out in the open, they would be frightened, and probably unable to tell friend from foe, or even learn how to change back. In the cage, they are starved until their will is broken and they learn that they are human, not dragon.

For days, that human must learn how to overcome their instincts. For some, it takes a week, for others, a month. Eventually you learn not to kill the first thing you see, because it's probably not out to get you, and you learn how to think logically. Dragons are naturally defensive animals, and their response of "kill" is out of fear, not blood lust. Many times there will be a dragon whose first instinct is "run". I, however, was not one of those dragons.

I lunged at Haru with all my might, terrified of the boy with the sharp blade. Terrified of the people around me, watching intently. Terrified that I wouldn't be able to get away, so I'd have to kill them all to save my own life, because this crazy stone structure we were all in had a covering and I couldn't see the sky.

"Haz! Haz, what are you doing?" a voice from the stands called as I bit into my opponent's arm. The boy screamed from pain.

I wasn't a dragon, so I couldn't bite it off. I could, however, draw blood.

"Haz!" It was the same voice. I jumped a safe distance away from my opponent and looked up into the stands to see a boy with white hair and black eyes. Was he talking to me? _Am I this "Haz"?_

That's when I realized I didn't know who I was. My fear level hit maximum and I growled. A blade hit me in the stomach. I fell backwards as blood seeped out of my middle section where I had no scales to protect me. I whined and scrambled to my feet and held my already healing wound.

I turned to my opponent who was bleeding worse than I. There was a huge chuck taken out of his arm, and his eyes were sad. If he hadn't thrown that damn blade, I might have felt sorry for him. I growled.

"Release the jutsu!" I heard from the stands. It was the same boy. Did I know him? I looked up at him. I knew I must've looked like a scared puppy, because I was shaking by this point and my eyes were wide with fear.

Another blade. I saw it coming and dodged it, just to get hit by another, then another. One hit my stomach and I began bleeding, but another hit my leg and fell to the ground with an echoed _ting. _I felt nothing where that one had hit on my scales, and that made me feel invincible. I ran at my opponent, who was now just a bug in my eyes.

I flew at him, my mouth open as wide as it would go. I planned to bite his leg, but he moved out of the way. I watched him crawling away.

"Release. The. Jutsu!" the other boy screamed.

I stared up at him and growled. "I would listen to you if I knew what you meant!"

He didn't respond to my words, and I realized he didn't understand them. Why? I could understand him so clearly. I tried to form the words in his tongue, but my mind was blank. I couldn't speak it.

While I was thinking, a fist hit me. I flew backwards into the wall.

This not only scared me, but it pissed me off, so I retaliated.

I lunged at my opponent and pinned him down. The floor under us caved in at the pressure and broke. I opened my mouth and placed my fangs on his throat, not biting. He stopped moving. All he did was breathe and blink and tremble. Sweat rolled down his neck. His breathing was labored, as if he was afraid breathing would get him killed.

Above us, I saw the taller humans shifting uneasily. I closed my jaw slightly, and they grabbed onto the railing. _Are they going to jump down here? _I asked myself.

I closed my jaw a little more, drawing blood from the boy's throat. The taller humans jumped down and surrounded us. They looked like they didn't know what to do, but that only lasted a moment. They poised to spring at me. My jaw tightened instinctively.

"Don't get too close!" the white haired boy warned. "She's scared. Haru, look what you did! Dad's gonna be pissed if he finds- get out of my way!" he yelled, pushing aside one of the taller humans.

"Hazuki," he began. He went on, but I only caught certain parts.

_Hazuki? _

"...dad finds out, Haru's gonna get it. Maybe you won't need to get married to him..."

_Married? To the boy I'm killing? Yeah, right._ A picture flashed through my mind. It was a boy with red hair and the kanji for love on his forehead. I shook my head, but the image didn't go away. His blue eyes stared at me. So amazing. _Who was he?  
_  
"...friends think you're evil..."  
_  
Friends? Evil? Me? What did I do? **He** attacked **me**!_

"...heir of the Clan..."  
_  
Heir? What's a clan?_

"We'll never be able to hang out and drink juice again!..."

_Wait... What?_

"...really embarrassing, you know? And..."

_You're embarrassed by me? Well, Mr. Speech, I really couldn't give a damn.  
_  
"...love you, I don't want you to hurt Haru, either..."

_Haru? _

"So release the jutsu. For me."

_I don't know what you're talking about! Release the jutsu? What jutsu? And what the hell is a jutsu, anyway?_

The boy underneath me shifted slightly. My jaw closed a little more, and everyone around me stiffened. The black haired boy put his fingers together, his hands shaking in fear. His terrified voice whispered, "Release" then put his trembling fingers on my shoulder.

In a puff of smoke, I was human again. Sensei jumped down and walked over to the crowd.

I looked down. "Haru? Haru! What happened to you?" I got off him and pulled him up. My throat felt sore, but it didn't really hurt anymore.

Haru sighed. It was an irritated, annoyed sigh. "S'okay, Haz. I'm healing already, so it doesn't matter."

I didn't know what to say. Just a moment ago, I was doing a jutsu!

Two medical ninja walked over to Haru with a stretcher.

"I'll pass. It'll heal itself," he told them. They had a short quarrel over whether or not he should go with them until Sensei shooed them away.

I heard a few whispers from the other Jounin about how irresponsible Sensei was for letting my "condition" progress so far, and not even coming down to help Haru when the rest of them did. Sensei ignored them, even when they started badmouthing the Clan. He just cleared his throat and glared at them. They didn't speak again.

The four of us went up to the stands to watch the next battle.

"Seriously. Tell me what happened," I demanded. My voice was serious.

"Well," Omi began. "Haru stopped your jutsu.." He told the whole story, not once paying any attention to the battles that went on beneath us. My facial expressions changed from anger to amazement and so on. I could have killed him? There's such a thing as a half dragon? Jounin tried to stop me? I felt quite good about myself.

"Omi." Sensei tapped him on the shoulder then pointed to the screen. It was his turn.


	4. The Preliminaries End

I stared at the the boy Omi would fight. He looked big. I wasn't sure if my tiny brother would be able to take him on.

Omi jumped down where the fight would take place, ready and excited. The proctor spoke then jumped away. I walked over to the wall behind me. How could I watch my baby brother kill himself?

"He'll be fine. He might be a kid, but he's strong, too," Haru said. He put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. You should trust him."

"He's only nine!"

"Just watch," he coaxed. I followed him to the railing. Bad timing. The bigger boy had just landed a punch that sent Omi's smaller body flying across the field.

Haru sensed my anxiety. "He'll live." His voice was flat. _He isn't even worried!_

Omi transformed into a dragon. The bigger boy did nothing to stop the transformation. I guessed he'd rather fight the dragon than the crazy half-breed I had become.

I turned away again. There was fighting going on, but I refused to watch. I only turned around when the proctor announced Omi as the loser.

I looked over the railing. He was in his dragon form, twitching from pain. He was whining softly when suddenly he transformed back. I jumped down and ran over to him.

I rubbed his mane gently. "Omi?"

Haru sauntered over. "Hey, Om? You okay?"

"I'll live," he whispered.

Haru got down on one knee, his hands resting on his lower back. "Get on," he commanded.

Omi pulled himself up and got on Haru's back.

"Good fight," his opponent said. The bigger boy was covered in blood, but I doubted it was all his. "I didn't think you'd be so strong, since you're so small, so I thought I should congratulate you."

Omi smiled. "Thanks."

Haru and I smiled at the boy and went back to our spot, ignoring the medical nin altogether this time.

Haru put Omi down.

"Why didn't you watch me, Sis?" Omi asked. His voice was weak and brittle, but it held a strong tint to it.

"I was too afraid."

I stared down at my brother. One eye was closed and bruised, the other could just barely see. He had a fat lip and a bruised cheek. There were scratches all over his body, and huge bleeding gashes.

"How'd he do all that?" I asked.

Haru answered. "He pulled off a few scales."

I winced.

"Then shoved a kunai into the skin. The first time, the scale grew back. Then, he got too fast, and ended up riding on my back. The guy was skilled," Omi finished. He wasn't at all angry; he seemed to admire the guy. I understood. It's hard not to respect someone who's strong enough to beat you.

"It appears you're the only one who won in this group, Hazuki-Sama. And the three of you, in all of the genin from our clan, are the only ones who even got past the Forest of Death. Did you notice?" Sensei asked, his eyes straight ahead.

The three of us shook our heads. Was the Dragon Clan really that weak?

--

The next few battles went on, and there were only four people who hadn't fought yet. Rock Lee, Chouji, a human mummy, and...

The Poison.

The screen displayed two names. Rock Lee and Gaara.

My heart skipped a beat and I took in a deep breath. I noticed Haru looking at me, so I turned to him for a moment. His eyes were sad, but I didn't know why. I also didn't care. Not with _him_ moving right before my eyes.

The fight began.

I had never seen anything so graceful. A Thai jutsu expert against someone who was so gorgeous, so amazing, so perfect... that even my beautiful clan members paled in comparison.

I leaned against the railing, mesmerized by the Poison's every move. I couldn't look away. When he got hurt, my heart reacted by racing, and once, it stopped altogether. For a moment, I thought he was dead. I felt the shock numb my whole body as fear and sorrow ripped my heart to pieces. One single tear slid down my cheek, but he wasn't dead. I wiped it away as fast as I could, as inconspicuously as possible. All the while, by heart was bursting out of my chest, beating so hard I felt like it could have been a drummer in a metal band.

When he won, my heart finally calmed down. I held on tightly to the railing to keep myself from jumping down to him. I bit my tongue to keep from calling out to him. I tried to close my eyes to keep from staring at him, but they wouldn't even blink.

For a moment, he looked up and our eyes met. I didn't, couldn't, look away from them. Then, he turned into sand and appeared next to the blonde girl and their Sensei- a man with half of his face covered. He was watching me closely and suspiciously. I didn't stare back at him; I dropped my eyes and waited for the next fight.

Afterwards, I felt like an ass for not even worrying about Rock Lee's condition. If he had been killed, I don't think I would have felt anything but envy because it would have been by the hand of the Poison.

_My_ Poison.

One half of me was thinking rationally, telling me that I didn't know him. Telling me he wasn't from my Clan. Telling me he wasn't even from my Village. Telling me he was evil. Telling me his eyes were full of hatred. Telling me his mystery was the result of something I could never understand. Telling me that there was no way I could be falling so hard for someone like him. Telling me... telling me...

The other half wasn't listening.

--

The place emptied out, and the only ones who remained were the victors, the Hokage, and a few others who worked with him.

The Hokage talked a lot, but I wasn't paying one bit of attention. I really didn't care what he had to say. I'd wing it, like I did everything.

We were shown a chart of who we'd fight. Shikamaru, a boy I knew vaguely from the Leaf Village, had to fight two people. I was paired against the boy who beat Omi. I turned to him to see he was staring at me. There was a determined grin on his face, but his eyes were slightly scared. I stuck my tongue out at him and quickly gave him the finger. I heard the Hokage clear his throat. I turned to see he was watching me, an eyebrow raised curiously. I smiled and waved, my cheeks a bright red.

For a reason I partially hated to admit to myself, I liked the color red a lot more than I did before the Chuunin Exams


	5. Play, Fastforward, Stop!

_Tomorrow is the big day!_ I thought happily. I trained in the back yard of the main hut, punching and kicking a tree stump to pieces.

"Hazuki, I want to speak with you." Father's strict voice sent a wave of disgust down my spine. He stood at the back window, waiting patiently.

"Coming, Father!" I panted. I jogged into the hut where he waited and sat on the floor in front of him. I wiped the sweat from my brow and listened impatiently.

"Hazuki, I know that you're excited about tomorrow, but I feel that I need to tell you something. You're older brother isn't coming home."

My head cocked to one side. "I know that."

Father sighed in annoyance. "I know that you know this already, but I don't think you understand. If he doesn't come back, you are the heir."

I was even more confused. "I know that."

"But you don't understand. You are taking the Chuunin Exams with the Leaf Village."

I waited a moment. "I know that."

"I want you to forfeit."

I waited to make sure he was done speaking. No one interrupted Father. No one. But he seemed to just say that sentence so that I could ask him a bewildered, "What? Why?"

"For generations, our Clan and the rest of the world have been separate. You're taking the Chuunin Exams with them. As you know, everyone else for three generations- I, my father, and his father- all climbed the ranks here, within the Clan, without the rest of- not only the Leaf, but everyone else- knowing anything. Nothing other than the strict, need-to-know basis, such as who was what level."

"So what? This isn't the past, Dad!" I slammed my hands on the dirt ground.

"It is our way, Hazuki." He spoke calmly, but I could tell it was taking a lot of restraint.

"You! You! Why did you send us into the Exams, then?"

Father sighed. "I didn't think you'd make it. We are only defense, remember? They know offensive moves we couldn't even dream of."

"I want to be there!"

"You want to be there, you say? This is the clan that raised you! Would you turn your back on your responsibilities here to become a chuunin in the Leaf? To work under that blasted Hokage? Do I have two children ready to turn their backs on me?"

Father was talking about my older brother, Rui. He had left the clan when he realized that he didn't want to be the heir. He left in the night, without so much as a note. That night, I remember him watching me for a while because I opened my sleeping eyes to see him sitting by the window in my room, a full moon outside. He had said something to me, but I had fallen back asleep. All I remember is hearing him chuckle as I tried to keep my eyes open.

"That's not fair, Father! I want to be in the Exams. I want to be a chuunin- not a Clan chuunin. I want to work with the Leaf! When I am leader, I will make this Clan apart of the Leaf!"

"Certainly _not_!" Father screamed at me. I recoiled with shock. There was an angry vein sticking out on his throat, the vein that always came out when we spoke well of the Leaf. "You will most certainly _not_ do that! The Leaf is _not_ worthy of us, do you hear me? If you choose to do so, I will be forced to skip you as heir!"

I blinked. To lead this Clan was what I wanted more than anything. I fought the urge to run away. I fought the urge to cry. I scowled at my father.

"Fine. But tell me something. Why would you tell me this now instead of before? I mean, if you really wanted me to skip the Exams, you would never even have let me go."

Father took several calming breaths. His eyes were closed while he gathered his thoughts. "Because, although I want you to forfeit, I also want to give you a choice. Just remember," he opened his eyes, "that this Clan raised you. The Leaf mocks you. Whom will you serve, Hazuki?"

**The next day**

Fights went on below me, but nothing registered in my mind. I stood high up on a balcony so I could see everything going on.

My Poison was to fight the Uchiha, who wasn't here yet. They skipped his turn.

The called the boy in black's name, the one in the group as Gaara. He forfeited his fight against some boy from the Leaf that I didn't know.

_Damn. Got to it before me.  
_  
Then they called my name.

Father's words played in my head:_ "Because, although I want you to forfeit, I also want to give you a choice. Just remember that this clan raised you. The Leaf mocks you. Whom do you serve, Hazuki?"  
_  
I grabbed on to the railing, ready to jump down to the fight. But the wrong muscles moved. My feet stood still and my mouth opened, speaking two words I didn't believe I'd say, "I forefeit."

From the stands, crowds of people booed and hissed at me. My opponent stared at me, bewildered. Angry. I felt like everyone was mad at me.

So I left.

I flew to the hut where Father would be waiting. When I walked though the cloth door, I said immediately, "I forfeited."

Father had his back to me but I could see a small like of smoke. Probably from his pipe. He was sitting on the ground, meditating. "Huhm?" he mumbled through the pipe in his mouth.

"I gave up, like you told me to. I didn't go through with it. I quit. It's over. Done."

For a long while, Father said nothing. Finally he pulled his pipe out of his mouth and spoke, saying, "Why did you do that?"

"What? You told me to. You said that I would be going against the Clan!" Tears fell down my cheeks, angry tears of regret. I knew what he was going to say.

"I thought... I thought you were more spirited than that. I'm sorry. I was wrong." Father stood up and turned to me. "I wanted you to go against my words, Hazuki. This was a test. Haru had told me that you fought him with the intent to kill him. I thought you would stop at nothing, so I wanted to test you. Wasn't this your dream? To be part of the Leaf?"

I fell, almost lifeless, to the ground, my body numb. I looked up at him, but didn't say a word.

"Of course, he told me of your half form, too. Very interesting, Hazuki, very interesting."

I just threw away my chance at being part of the Leaf, and he was talking about the half form?

I shot up and left the hut, flying around the Leaf for a while before deciding to go back to the Exams. When I got there, Naruto's fight against some boy-or was it was a girl?- was over. Naruto obviously was the winner because of the surprised look on his face. I released my jutsu on the roof of the stands and cheered my heart out. He looked up at me and waved.

"Great job, Naruto!" I screamed, crying with sadness that I had lost my chance.

"Thanks, Haz!" He obviously hadn't noticed my tears from the distance away he was.

"Don't mention it!"

I climbed back to where I had been before, accidentally bumping against someone.

"Sor- oh, it's you." I looked at the boy I had been supposed to fight.

"Not so happy to see you, either," he retorted.

I crossed my arms and turned to where the crowds of people were sitting. I scanned the seats, looking for-

"Haru! Omi! Hey!" I leaned over the railing and waved.

Haru looked up to me and elbowed Omi, who turned. They waved back enthusiastically, not even bothered by the fact that I had forfeited. They probably already knew why.

Suddenly, the Uchiha appeared, back-to-back with a jounin. I knew him as Kakashi, his, Sakura's, and Naruto's sensei.

Gaara began walking. The boy in black tried to say something to her, but the blonde girl threw her hands over his mouth and shushed him.

I raised an eyebrow. _Sketchy._

--

Chaos.

Absolute chaos.

At first, all I knew was that Gaara had been hurt. Someone had been playing with my Poison. That Uchiha had to die.

I barely even noticed the Sand nin who were slaughtering those in the Leaf. That didn't matter to me. My thoughts whirled restlessly.

_Gaara is hurt!_

The Leaf is getting ambushed!

But Gaara is hurt!

What do I do?

Move, legs, move!

I leaped the longest distance I ever leaped to get to Omi and Haru. They were out like lights from some jutsu the Leaf's "allies" had placed on them. I released it and the two woke up, groggy and confused. I kunai hit my back, making blood stain my shirt, but I ignored it as we flew away to warn my father.


	6. Best Day Ever! Wait, Is That Bad?

We flew like lightning to the Clan, not once slacking in the pace. Father was sitting in the "Ego Hut", smoking a pipe with that damned look on his face.

Although I wanted to be with Gaara, there was no way I would abandon the Clan for him. I didn't abandon my dream of being a chuunin just to leave my Clan moments later to save _him_. But, if I hadn't abandoned my dream before, where would I be at this moment?

"Father!" Omi yelled. "The Sand! It's attacking the Leaf!"

The pipe fell to the floor from between my father's lips and the tobacco and ashes spilled out.

"Gather the Clan together," he commanded us. "I must decide what to do."

--

Omi, Haru, and I split up. We yelled at the top of our lungs: "_The Sand is attacking, the Sand is attacking! Meet in the center of the Clan! Every able body meet in the center! Hurry!_"

People ran out of their hut. Every genin, every chuunin, teacher, shop keeper, nanny... Anyone who was able to fight came. In all, we gathered about twenty-five people, all ready for a battle.

Father stood in the center of our territory on a small wooden stage that was used for announcements and such.

"We," he began, "cannot leave the Leaf unprotected. I would want the same from then. Also, we do not know if the Sand will attack us, also. We must get rid of them at once! We must not let them disgrace our home! We live here, and we will protect it! Let us fight!"

Everyone cheered. Dragons formed from the bodies of the people.

"Hazuki, my daughter," Father began, "I want you to stay and be a medical nin. I cannot risk your life here. You are the heir." He handed me a kit of medical supplies.

I nodded at his command. I looked at my father's, little brother's, and best friend's dragon forms before transforming myself with a scared feeling tearing at me. I followed them out of the Clan to the battle raging not far off, holding the kit.

--

The Leaf shinobi seemed shocked to see us. Pleasantly surprised, I'd say, at the number of reinforcements. We stopped kunai knives and shuriken and killed opponents with brute force.

I had to detach from my family to find wounded.

Many people were already dead. I checked the pulses of each body, even the enemies. I once found an unconscious member of the Sand. His heart was still beating, but he was out cold.

So I killed him.

I couldn't take any chances. Although this was the village that bore and raised Gaara, I couldn't take any chances. Anger rose in my chest as I killed another Sand nin.

I never was any good at masking my emotions. I had to get away before I broke down completely. I'd seen too many fallen heroes to bear it any longer. I took off into the trees, crying freely.

Then, I stopped short.

My eyes flittered up to Gaara, and I immediately wiped my tears away. When I looked back up, I saw the situation. Kankuro was holdig him up. Across from him on a different tree was Temari.

I stood silently watching them, wondering if they had seen my tears. They looked helpless.

"Please," Temari began, "we're out of chakra. Please, let us go."

Kankuro nodded in agreement, Gaara just peered up from wounded eyes.

_Damn. It. All._

"Go to the ground," I commanded.

"Please-"

I gritted my teeth. "Ground. Now!"

They jumped to the ground submissively. They were too weak to fight me. I didn't plan on fighting them, anyway.

Kankuro held on to Gaara tightly and Temari had a tired hand on her fan.

I sat on the ground and opened my medical kit.

"Gaara, come here," I demanded strictly. Even if I heal some of his wounds, he won't be able to go back to fight. "As long as you promise me that you won't fight the Leaf again, as long as you live."

"Yes." Gaara's voice was amazing. I was upset, thinking that time could make it crack and change. I never wanted it to change.

Kankuro stepped warily towards me and placed Gaara down.

"Who are you?" Temari asked me as I worked on Gaara. "How can you do that?"

I gulped. "Uh... My name is... Hazuki. I'm from a... special clan. Best not to ask questions." How was I going to tell her I was the heir to a clan that specialized in defense? She'd know right away that defense would include not only healing powers, but also manipulation of others. Would they come to that conclusion and think I was manipulating them? Our manipulation came from our tears, but they didn't know that. Manipulation was a strong gen jutsu. She'd think they were being manipulated and run away and- I shook my head. Paranoid much?

I took a moist towelette and wiped off the blood on his face. Then I took out a bottle. "This is ointment for your head. It'll sting," I told him as I rubbed a little on the bleeding spot.

He winced, but didn't voice a complaint. He closed his eyes until I took my fingers away. His eyes opened and he looked at me, their blueness much softer than hours before.

"Where else does it hurt?" I asked him.

He pulled his shirt down so that his left shoulder was exposed. I had to look at the ground for a moment, because looking at even that amount of bare skin was going to drive me up a wall. I knew I was blushing.

I took a deep breath and wiped the blood off as well. "This will need a different form of healing." I placed my fingers on the wound and they glowed a dull green.

The chidori had gone in too deep, and I had to close the wound before I put ointment on it.

"It's cold," Gaara told me.

"Mmhmm. This chakra has a colder temperature to it," I explained. "I don't know why. It just does. There, that should do it. Now, more ointment. Just to be on the safe side and to keep it from getting infected, 'kay?" I forced a smile and put some on him. "Does it hurt anywhere else?"

Gaara shook his head. "Just tired. You... you should check them out."

Temari and Kankuro shook their heads.

"You've done enough already. You'll get in trouble if they find you," Temari insisted.

I smiled at their concern. I even giggled a little. "I don't mind helping. You guys look, well... helpless."

Kankuro frowned, but didn't object. Temari smiled, but not angrily. Gaara didn't seem to care either way.

"Here. Do you want me to carry him?" I tilted my head toward the boy who sat in front of me. "If you guys are tired. Plus, I could say I'm bringing you to an interrogation. Or something." I shrugged. Kankuro really did look too tired to carry him. Plus I really, really wanted to. I've never played with Poison before. I smirked. That sounded dirty.

Temari and Kankuro exchanged glances. I looked up at the sky. It always calmed me, even on days such as this, where people were getting killed all around me.

Dragon thing.

"Fine," Kankuro said.

They helped me gat Gaara onto my back and we were on our way. _This is the best day ever! _I thought, biting my lip to keep from smiling._ Wait... is that bad?_

--

We soared through the trees, me in the lead and Temari and Kankuro a branch behind. They still seemed untrusting, but I didn't blame them.

"Gaara?" I began.

"Yes?" he answered weakly.

"What's with you? You seemed so... different back there. So blood thirsty. What's the real you?"

He took a few breaths, as if he was too tired to answer. "I don't know. I want to.. change."

"When did you decide this?"

"A few minutes before you showed up."

I began laughing. I felt him lean over my shoulders, trying to look at my face. His eyes were confused.

"What's so funny?" Kankuro asked from behind me.

"People can't change so drastically at a moment's notice," I explained. "No one works that way. It takes years of practice and will power. Gaara, you're on the verge of passing out. You have little to no will power left."

Temari spoke next, her words slow as she chose them . "The old Gaara was... scary... hateful... murderous. He just apologized to us. Gaara hasn't apologized for anything in six years. He has changed."

"No, he didn't change. At least, I highly doubt it. He just got over something. A fear, probably. Like, you must have been afraid of something, Gaara, but you got over it. You didn't change. You're just not restricted anymore." I liked my theory much more.

We leaped in silence for a while as we thought. I stopped short, and the two leaped on to my branch on either side of me. The three Sand genin looked at me, wondering what was wrong. I supposed they saw how wide my eyes were, because their eyes snapped to where I was looking.

The leaves shook as something flew at us at full speed. An angry looking dragon. It's sleek body and familiar movements told me who it was.

My voice was high pitched with fear as a single word came out of my mouth, "Sensei?"


	7. When You Help The Enemy

"Hazuki-sama, what are you doing?" Sensei asked after a puff of smoke made his dragon body human again.

There was no way to lie to him. I knew that he had caught me staring at Gaara several times. Tsubasa Sensei was a person who noticed things easily, which made it hard to get away with anything.

I hung my head. "Sensei, please don't hurt them. They're too weak to harm anyone now." I took a deep breath. Time to be a power abuser. "I order you to leave them alone." My eyes narrowed angrily.

Sensei's eyes widened. I never ordered people to do things. It wasn't like I was too nice or anything, I just didn't particularly feel the need to order people to do anything. I was the heir to the Clan, so they usually did things for me before I asked.

Sensei frowned but said, "I understand, Hazuki-sama." He looked up at me with cold, suspicious eyes but bowed respectfully. "Do you want help?"

I smiled. "If I'm met with controversy, especially from within the Clan, I might."

Sensei nodded and said nothing else. He probably thought I was going to turn on my father or the Leaf. I only wanted to protect the Poison I was injecting into myself like an IV.

We continued in the way of the Sand, which was getting closer with every leap.

"Hazuki-sama," Tsubasa Sensei began, "your father is looking for you."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I didn't know what you were plotting. I see now your true intent is to just help these three."

"Hazuki!"

For the second time, I stopped short. Haru ran up to me from the side.

"Haz! Wh- what are you doing?"

I didn't speak. I turned to him slowly. He was cut and bruised, like he had taken a severe beating.

"Why?" He stared at me as if he had caught me cheating on him.

Which could_ never_ happen, since we were _not_ together.

"They needed help," I answered simply, continuing on my way.

His jaw dropped as I flew to the next branch. Shock stunned him for a moment, but he soon started following me, and then even caught up. "We need help!"

"They needed me more," I answered monotonously, horribly irritated by his presence.

"We needed you more!" he argued.

"They could have died if a Leaf shinobi found them."

"Our shinobi don't have time to kill the weak! We're dying! How could you help the enemy's weak and leave the Leaf's to die?"

"The Leaf has medical nin." I quickened my pace, and Haru matched it with angry power.

He stared at me and laughed. "We need more! Do you know how many lives have been lost? How many lives that you could have saved if you were not taking care of... of _him_?" Haru pointed to Gaara on my back.

I looked away and mumbled, "don't play that card, Haru." Once again, I quickened.

"Don't play that card? What's the matter with you?" He caught up and pulled Gaara, trying to pull him off me.

Tsubasa Sensei flew at Haru, knocking him off the branch and to the ground. The Sand nin and I watched them fall

Haru hit the ground with a_ thud._ For a moment, he didn't do anything, but then he sat up and looked at Tsubasa Sensei. "Sensei?"

Sensei's words were cold and unfeeling. "It was an order. I'm sorry."

His eyes turned to me. "Hazuki?"

"I told him to help me if I was opposed."

Haru rubbed his head, his eyes on the ground. "You're betraying the Leaf-"

I growled. "Don't you _ever _say that!"

Haru went on from his spot on the ground. "Betraying the wounded! Betraying the _dead_."

Had Gaara not been on my back, I would have covered my ears. "Shut up, you don't know anything! You'd never understand!"

"I understand too well, and that's why I'm so pissed off!" Haru yelled back, but I was already on the move again, acting as if I hadn't heard.

--

Halfway to the Sand, I stopped. Sensei watched me carefully, as if I were some animal under observation.

I didn't turn to the Sand ninja behind me. "I have to go back, I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's cool. You've been a big help. I mean, we've betrayed you so badly.." Kankuro's voice trailed off. He sounded regretful and sad.

I turned to him with the biggest smile I could conjure up. "Don't worry. Everyone makes mistakes."

"It was more than a mistake," Gaara whispered in my ear. Goose bumps appeared on my arms at the closeness of his voice. I'm sure my face was a bright red, because the hot flash his voice gave me made me feel like Father's clay hut on a hot summer's day.

I saw Temari watching me, but her expression was unreadable. I knew what that meant. She knew. She could read me like a book. Like a book shouting its contents at the top of its lungs to the world.

"Well, lets just try to get along..?" I mumbled as I slipped Gaara off my back.

He stood, although his legs seemed to wobble. Kankuro jumped over to get a hold on him.

"Temari, let's go," Kankuro called as he turned and jumped to the next branch.

Temari jumped to my branch and gave me an unreadable look before following them further. The look wasn't like a glare, but it wasn't friendly, either. It was kind of curious and showed that she was deep in thought. Although she knew, I knew she wouldn't tell.

"I'm pleased, but I can't say the same for your father," Sensei praised.

"Why?"

"I'm pleased because you showed great independence. You're going to be a very good leader. Your father is going to see treason." Sensei watched the Sand shinobi with narrowed eyes. They looked back at me with guilt in theirs, but I shrugged whimsically to comfort them.

I turned into a dragon and flew home, arriving there shortly afterwards.

--

"Where in _God's_ name have you been?" Father screamed into my face. He was so close I could smell his breath and some of his spit landed on my face. I didn't dare say a word. "Do you have _any_ idea how worried I was? Could you _possibly_ fathom what I thought had happened to you?"

Father walked to the back window, watching a little bird perched on the window sill. He was staring out of it now, too angry to look at me. I sat on the floor on my calves, my head bowed.

"I'm sorry," I whispered so low that I was surprised he heard.

"You're not sorry! You helped the Sand willingly!" He pounded the window sill and the little bird flew away. He turned to me.

I flinched but didn't speak.

"You don't deny it?"

For a while, I didn't react. When I could tell he was getting impatient, I shook my head weakly.

"Unbelievable! Why did you help them? Them, the ones who were out to kill us?"

I didn't speak. My hands were gripped into fists and they tightened so that my nails were digging in to my palms. It hurt, but it calmed me a little. I noticed the bird was back.

Father rubbed his forehead. He became a little calmer and sighed. "I'm ashamed of you."

I looked relaxed by his lighter tone, even though he was still angry, and opened my hands. On my palms were cuts from where my nails had been dug in. I watched the cuts heal with mild interest.

"Are you _listening_ to me?"

My head snapped up to see Father's face. He shook his head. "I don't know what to do with you. I just don't. How will this Clan survive with you as an heir?"

I wanted to defend myself, but I didn't. I stayed silent as Father fumed.

Haru walked in then. When he saw me, he turned to leave, but Father looked straight at me.

"Haru, wait," he called to my teammate before he was all the way out the door. Father looked at me. "And another thing! Is what Haru told me true?"

I stood and faced Haru. "You didn't."

Haru didn't meet my eyes. He clasped his hands together and stood in silence.

"Tell me you didn't." I felt the tingle in my nose that warned me I was about to cry.

"Of course he did!" Father exclaimed. "He assured me you were alive, and I demanded he tell me everything he knew. When he was beating around the bush, I threatened to stop the wedding between the two of you. So, I got everything. Everything about the red-haired mystery boy. The monster- Hazuki, what are you _doing_?"

I walked over to Haru and brought a hand across his cheek. Haru's face flew to one side and a red spot appeared in the shape of my hand. The slap was so hard my fingers tingled. It was so loud, the little bird flew away again.

"You're nobody to me," I screamed out. I turened to my father. "I always wondered why Rui left. Now I know!" I screamed in between sobs as I left the hut.

I saw Omi waiting in his usual spot outside of the hut. "Hazuki!"

I stopped, but only for a moment. Haru walked out after me. _God, I can't even look at him!_ I jumped into the trees. For a moment, I thought of going to the Sand.

I frowned. _And do what? Cry on them because I'm in trouble for helping them? Putting them on the guilt trip won't do anything to help me. It'll just make me feel worse. Damn it! I just need to kill something, like, right now._

I turned into a dragon, and soon found myself flying into the forest. When I felt like I was far away enough from home that I could be in peace and close enough to the sand village that I was happy, I flew in circles, singing a song known by the dragons; one of untranslatable agony.

Well, maybe I was being a little dramatic, but I had the right to that, didn't I? I was hurt, torn between loyalty and a love that could never grow outside of my own heart. I had a fight with my father, who would probably place Omi as heir now. And I even slapped Haru. He deserved it. He ratted me out to marry me?

It's all because of that day. We were eight years old, and we had just gotten our dragons. We were exploring all of our new traits- the ability to heal, the ability to sing, and our beautiful features.

The only one we had trouble with was the manipulation. Cry in front of someone and they are almost always at your mercy. They could fall in love with you or become your most loyal servant or your best friend. It all depends on what they had the capability of becoming.

I woke up one morning to find my house holding three people instead of five. We used to live in the house with my _father- _I cringed at the thought that we were related-before my brother left.

_"Daddy?" I asked, rubbing my eyes._

"Hazuki. Sit here, alright?" He pointed to the couch were Omi already sat. He was only five.

I nodded and sat next to Omi.

"You know how your brother ran away last month?" Father asked.  


_Omi and I nodded.  
_

_"Well, I sent Mommy out to look for him," he finished. His voice seemed far away. We knew, even as children, that something was wrong.  
_

_"When is she gonna come home?" Omi asked, a scared tone in his voice._

"I don't know." He sighed, then said something a father should never say to two young children. "She might not."

I cried. I cried harder than I ever had before. Father made no move to look away, or cover his ears. Maybe he was being hypnotized and couldn't move. Maybe he already felt he was so close to me that he couldn't get any closer. He just watched Omi and I cry, becoming captivated by both our tears. Omi and I saw each other's tears. We were both genin by this point, and both had the power of manipulation.__

I ran from the house. That's when I bumped in to Haru, my best friend at the time. I hit my nose on his shoulder and looked up, straight into his eyes.

"Hazuki! No!" Father yelled as he ran after me, but it was too late. Haru's eyes widened a little and he was already under the spell. Father stopped a few feet away from us and watched Haru wrapped me in a big hug.  
  
I didn't know he could in love with me so easily, so quickly. Instantaneous reaction. I didn't know it would be so strong. I caused him to fall in love.

And I slapped him. I caused it, and I slapped him.

From that moment on, Haru, Omi, and my father were stuck to my soul like glue. I have yet to truly figure out the strength of this glue, but I don't intent to test it.

--

The sky turned oil-black. I was back in my human form, looking at the sky. I was so mad, my insides felt like they were going to explode. I hated Haru. I hated that man I call my father. I hated myself.

"Hazuki?"

I turned to see Haru.

Haru looked at me. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah," I muttered.

"It's okay that you slapped me. Actually, that made me feel pretty cool."

"I called you a nobody."

Haru looked at the ground. "Yeah, that's the part that stung." He looked up at me and shrugged.

I didn't look at him. I was still angry. I wanted to kill him. But then he hugged me and my anger, the horrible demon inside me, melted away.


	8. Uchiha Ran Away? Who Cares?

**Thanks, Lela, for reviewing! I'm sprucing this up by fixing certain things, since I noticed it was total shit. xDD So, I hope it's better.**

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* * *

  
**

_Time goes by too fast. How long has it been since the Exams? Weeks? Months? Who knows._ I sure as hell had no idea. I was too busy going back and fourth from helping the Leaf and lying to my father about where I had been during that time.

Father still wasn't on the best terms with the Leaf, and helping them rebuild was absolutely out of the question.

I went to the Village alone that day. Due to some sort of black mail, Omi was helping Haru with his training, so I got the day all to myself. It was really quite nice.

When I entered the Village, the place seemed to be off. By the entrance to the Leaf sat Shikamaru, Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, and Neji. The were huddled together, looking at something on the ground.

"Hi, guys," I greeted with a small wave.

They looked up at me, then back down to the ground.

"Come here, Hazuki," Shikamaru called. I had gotten to know the boy much better during the recreation of the Leaf. Also, he was the only person to become a chuunin, so I always pestered him to find out his secret.

I danced over to them. I didn't take their stern faces seriously. I figured it was a mission, no big deal. "'Sup?"

"Sasuke got kidnapped. Rather, I think he ran away." Shikamaru explained.

I shrugged. _Damned Uchiha. I hope he got kidnapped. Kidnapped and tortured and raped and killed and..._ I looked over at Naruto. He looked scared and determined, and under that, he was hurt. I decided to show at least some concern for Naruto's sake, but all I could do was say, "oh."

"You'll be of some help, Haz. I want you to turn into a dragon and fly about two hundred meters to the side of us. Can you still hear us from that distance?"

I nodded.

Shikamaru looked at the boys around him, and they all seemed pleased with the plan. "Be sure not to get caught. That's most important. I want you to be absolutely back up. Your job is to keep us alive if worse comes to worst. Understood?"

I nodded. "Why?"

"That damn Orochimaru! He promised Sasuke power, so he left. We have to get him back!" Naruto yelled.

From off to the side, Sakura stared at me. The look on her face was sheer jealousy. I guessed she had wanted to go. _She's weak. She's of no use, anyway._

I hated weak kunoichi. They gave us a bad name, and that Sakura was a perfect example. I could think of a few more. I won't name names, though. _cough Ino, and especially that damn girl Kirasai from my Clan, the one who always follows Haru cough.  
_  
Although that _didn't _bother me, because we were _not_ together.

_Ack! Focus, Haz, focus!_

"Hey, Haz," Shikamaru's annoyed voice snapped me out of my thought. "Christ, I never thought you'd come back to Earth. Let's go. You need get a head start."

"Two hundred meters? Give me twenty seconds," I bragged. "Dragon Transformation Jutsu!"

--

I flew at a pace to match my comrades'. I was a little over two fifty meters away, but I could still hear them well. However, I had to pay very close attention to just them, and therefore couldn't pay attention to anything else, or else I would lose them for that time.

Things were shaky, but I was not to come any nearer. Not until I heard differently from Shikamaru. And, so far, I hadn't heard a thing.

--

Chouji stayed behind the group. He was fighting some man who I didn't know. I also didn't know what was going on what was happening to him. I just kept my ears open and prayed to my ancestors to keep him alive. I refocused on the other four and was forced to leave Chouji behind.

--

Neji was left behind, as well, fighting some spider-man I heard named Kidomaru. By this time, I was panicking. What was I to do? I knew I had to stay with Kiba, Shikamaru, and Naruto. They were the majority. I had to stay with them.

_Focus! Any and all thoughts keep them disconnected from you!_ I shook all thoughts away and concentrated on the boys.

--

I disconnected from Kiba and Akamaru. He had been followed by a man and was somewhere far off. The squad was dropping like flies, and I idly wondered who would be next.

Then, I was forced to disconnect from Shikamaru.

Naruto was in the trees somewhere, fighting a man whose name was Kimimaro. Shikamaru ordered me to follow him with a quiet and quick, "Go with Naruto." Shikamaru knew Naruto would be going after Sasuke, and I had to be there for protection and help. Sasuke was the target, and no matter how much I hoped he would just die, I had to bring him back.

I sent my fifth prayer to my ancestors as I watched Naruto battle from a close distance. The man was crazy. Absolutely crazy. Of all things, he worked with his bones. _Seriously, what the fuck?_

That's when I saw Rock Lee, who took the place of Naruto in the fight. The blond was now to go after Sasuke. My heart skipped a beat as I remembered that day so long ago already, when I hadn't cared whether or not he lived. That's when my biggest decision showed up. _Do I follow Naruto and finish the mission as a back up for him, or protect Lee with my life to make up for that day? Damn, I don't know!_

A few words were exchanged while I was lost in thought, and Naruto took off to find Sasuke. Or something like that. I think. Where had Sasuke gotten away? I wasn't too sure what was happening._ Damn you, short attention span! _I thought as I let out a small growl.

Naruto stopped on a branch. "Stay with Lee."

"I will." I smiled, grateful that my decision had been made.

Naruto jumped to the next branch and was on his way. I watched Lee, but I dared not disturb the fight. That was not what I had to do. I was only a last resort, even though I could have beaten the man so easily. I would not hurt Lee's pride by saving him before I was needed.

--

I had, of course, zoned out, and I had no idea what was going on. All I knew was that Lee looked a little beat up and had just almost been killed by a sharp bone. My muscles had tensed in preparation to save him, but he seemed to have saved himself with a, "Wait! I have to take my medicine."

_Wow, Lee. I'll remember that technique next time I'm about to be killed._

He swallowed something, which turned his cheeks a red color. It was almost like a blush, but kinda not at all. His moves were slightly faster, but also more clumsy. He seemed to be outsmarting the crazy bone dude, and the fight was now much more interesting to watch.

His moves were less graceful and far more aggressive. His opponent seemed to be having a harder time blocking his moves, and Lee seemed far more in to the fight than before.  
_  
What was in that medicine, and where can I get some?_

The fight raged. Many times, I was compelled to save Lee, but he always got up. I watched with fascination and admiration; Lee was amazing. He never gave up, even though he was so close to defeat. I doubted even Naruto had that grit.

He began running in a circle around Mr. I-Can-Take-Out-My-Bones-And-Still-Stand, kicking up a circular cloud of dirt. The tape from Lee's arms wound around Kimimaro, and Lee aimed a strong kick at the man's chest, only to be stopped by a quite literally protruding rib cage.

Then came a line of sand. It wrapped around one of the bones then turned into a big ball and blew Lee to the side.

Walking crimson came forward, steps calm, arms crossed, eyes focused.

I took in a deep breath, my enhanced dragon sense of smell taking in the scent of the Gaara, of the Poison I had missed so much. He smelled like the desert and also like the leaves he jumped through to get here. A mixture of the Sand and Leaf is something that I longed for. How I wished to be the Leaf that mixed with his Sand. I smiled. _That sounded dirty._

I knew it was my imagination, but as I took in another breath, I thought I could smell poison in the air.

_At least the Uchiha brought him here. At least I get to see Gaara. Maybe he isn't entirely good for nothing.  
_  
I smiled. Yes, dragons can smile. It was that kind of smile only teenage girls possess when looking at their first love. It's the kind of smile that puts her at ease, makes her feel like she's floating and that she's invincible to any form of pain. It makes her forget that there are far more important matters at hand...


	9. Torn

The fight ended in victory, Kimimaro defeated and dead.

Gaara and Lee sat against trees, talking to each other. I released my jutsu instead of going after Naruto like I should have. I felt slightly guilty for not going after him, but I also kinda didn't care.

I jumped down from the tree Gaara was leaning against so that I stood in front of the two.

Gaara's eyes moved slowly until they met mine.

"Hazuki." The word made me blush.

"Gaara." I tried to smile and nodded slightly.

He didn't speak for a while. There was an uncomfortable silence that lasted about thirty seconds.

I began to wish I had stayed in the tree until Gaara said, "I wondered when you were going to come out."

I smiled automatically at his voice. "You knew I was up there?" _Good job! Ask the obvious question. Stupid, Hazuki! Stupid! Ugh! You should just leave now! You've made a fool of yourself! He probably thinks you're such an idiot!_

"Yes," Gaara answered. He gave no hint that he though I was stupid, but...

I sat down, scarily self aware and red faced. I turned to Lee and waved shyly, still ashamed of that day during the preliminaries. He waved back, his face only showing tiredness and surprise. _Of course! He doesn't know what I was thinking!_

"We should get back to the Leaf Village. Hazuki, help me carry Lee back," Gaara demanded.  
_  
He's talking to me! He's talking to me! He's talking to me!_

"Of course!" I agreed, my voice traveling through a few octaves. I eagerly- too eagerly- pulled Lee up, resting his right arm around my neck

Lee didn't voice a complaint, but his face wrinkled in pain.

"Sorry," I whispered. _You're showing off your stupidity one mistake after another!_ I thought. My next thoughts were, _Damn it, brain! Stop criticizing me!_

--

Back in the Leaf, Lee was resting in the hospital. Under the strict watch of the nurse, of course.

I sat with him for a few moments until the nurse pushed me out of the room, insisting he needed rest.

--

Gaara and I walked out of the hospital and over to a tree that provided enough shade for the both of us. He sat down, deep in thought. I stood up, so that I could watch him without him noticing, just so that the creepy factor was upped too much.

"How.. has it been going?" I asked. I meant about the whole 'changing personality' thing, but I figured it was too obvious to mention.

"Alright," he replied.

There was another long silence. "Still not a talker, I see." I giggled.

He took me seriously. "No. Not really." He looked up at me, his blue eyes drawing me in. I found I couldn't look away, as if they held a power that I could not understand.

Then I realized something: I saved his life and got in trouble, but he and his siblings came back to save our shinobi. _I deserve a fucking medal._

"Hazuki-sama! Hazuki-sama!" The call broke my bitter thoughts. My head snapped up to see Kirasai, that girl from the Clan that I hated.

Not because she loved Haru, though. She was just annoying. I didn't care that she liked him, because I had no feelings toward him other than friendship. Naturally.

I raised an annoyed eyebrow and Kirasai went on to say, "your father is so angry with you, Hazuki-sama. He couldn't find you anywhere. The whole Clan's been looking for you." I didn't like the tone of her voice. It was annoyed and pleased at the same time.

I was pissed. _Bitch interrupted my conversation with Gaara._

"Hazuki-sama, you should go ba-"

"Haz! You're alive!" Omi yelled. I looked over Kirasai's shoulder to see him running at me. He flew at me, hugging me around my waist. "I've been so worried, I-" he pulled his head away from my chest where he had buried it to see Gaara staring at us. "Ooooh," my brother mumbled. Then he got closer to my ear and whispered, "sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about!" I insisted, pushing him away. My face was beet red.

Omi giggled. "Dad's seriously pissed. You should suck up majorly. Where were you, anyway?"

"Watching over a squad. Uchiha ran away, so they asked me to come along." I shrugged, not really caring if dad was going to kill me when I got home. I still kinda hated him.

Omi's eyes widened. "Is he okay?"

My voice was high pitched when I said, "I don't know!" I placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder- a female way of saying something along the lines of, 'Mine! Get away!', and said, "I was supposed to watch over Lee, but Gaara came to save him."

"You weren't doing a very good job," Gaara stated bluntly.

I frowned. "I wanted to let him fight."

"He could have died."

"I wouldn't have let that happen."

"Accidents happen."

"Even if he got horribly hurt, I could have saved him."

"You can't save everyone."

"I saved you."

The whole argument had been with unraised voices and flat tones. When Gaara didn't respond to my last statement, I was surprised. "What?"

"Naruto saved me."

"Not in the literal sense. He saved you emotionally and menally. I don't do emotional or mental. I do physical." I couldn't help but smile at how dirty that sounded.

Gaara looked over at me. His eyes were deep and thoughtful. They looked like they wanted to laugh, but didn't quite know what humor was.

I blushed madly, cursing myself the whole time. I turned my head away and I caught sight of Haru. He stood a few feet away, watching. The look on his face was heart breaking. It was a mixture of sadness and betrayal, mixed in with the I-knew-this-would-happen-if-he-came-back emotion. I don't think, however, that it had a specific name.

Gaara's eyes wandered to where mine rested. He said nothing, but only analyzed the look on Haru's face.

"Haru? What's wrong? You're still not hung on Hazuki-sama, are you? You know she'll never love you!" Kirasai yelled to him, grabbing his arm. "Not when sh loves that monster so much," she added in a dark tone.

Gaara turned to me, surprised at the word "love".

Then Haru tristed out of the girl's grasp, and I couldn't help but feel pleased. But he turned around and ran to the Clan.

He was going to tell.

I ran after him, my anger growing with each step. "Haru, stop! Will you stop?" I put all my strength into a fierce leap that brought me inches from Haru's back. I grabbed his shoulder and twisted him around mid-run, forcing us both to fall. I crawled on top of him and held him down.

"Damn it! Fine, Haru!" I screamed, inches from his face. "Go tell like the child you are! I don't care! I don't care what you do anymore, since you're obviously not my friend!" I knew that last part crossed the line and that Haru was my friend- probably the best friend I've ever had- but I was pushing him purposely.

"Not your friend?" he yelled. "_You're_ the one who's hurting _me_, and you accuse _me_ of not being your friend?"

"Friends don't hurt people like this!" I shot back. _He wouldn't get me in trouble with my father if he were my friend! But he is my friend! I don't know anymore! I wish this would just go away!_

"You hurt me every day! Every time you call me your 'friend'," he made quotation marks with his fingers, "you're hurting me. Every time you think about that monster, you hurt me! If friends don't hurt friends, then you obviously hate me!"

I fought the urge to slap him across that mean, assholey face of his. "That's unfair."

He turned to the side. "Leave!" he screamed, his voice breaking.

_He's going to cry._

I didn't get off him.

"Get away!" he yelled again. I knew he didn't want to force me to love him, like I had forced him. It had been an accident. I hadn't known...

Then I saw them. They were normal tears, but I could feel swelling inside my heart, as if it was working too fast and ready to, quite literally, explode. It _hurt._ And then, just like that, the sensation was over.

I got off him and stood up. He covered his face with his hands, but I had already seen.

Omi ran over to us. "Haru? Haru, don't cry," he comforted.

Haru sat up and wiped his eyes with the back of his wrist. At the same time time, he and Omi's heads snapped over to me.

I stared at Haru. My heart was pumping twice as fast as usual, but it was slowing down. The manipulation had obviously taken root in my mind, and I was uncertain to what would become of me now.

I felt...


	10. Kiss

"Haz?" Haru began. He got up and walked over to me, his steps slow and nervous, but I could tell by the look on his face that he was anxious.

I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn't know what to say.

"Hazuki, you saw me cry," he said slowly, as if I was too stupid to understand.

I nodded.

"How do you feel, Haz?" Omi asked.

My mind was whirling. "No different," I answered.

At that, Haru stopped moving. "What?" he asked weakly.

I shrugged. "No different."

His eyes widened and he stared at the ground, calculating something. It was as if this was not at all possible that I hadn't fallen in love with him. But wasn't it? My eyes strayed over to Gaara, and the normal pink came to my cheeks.

Haru looked up at me from his lashes, watching me. I pretended like I didn't notice. I didn't want to notice.

"They had no effect," he whispered to me.

I hugged my best friend. "I'm not mad at you anym-"

He pushed me off. "Just go away." He walked away, his pace zombie-like.

I watched him go and I suddenly grabbed him and pulled him behind a tree. Before I knew what I was doing, I pushed him against the rough bark and kissed him hard. I was willing to sacrifice my happiness if it meant helping him.

He threw his arms around my waist, and kissed back just as hard. I wanted to pull away. I wanted to tell him I didn't love him. I wanted to, but I couldn't. Especially not when I felt him smile.

He pulled away. "Why'd you do that?" he asked, wiping his mouth.

I was at a loss for words. "I dunno."

"Do you love me?"

There was a long silence. I felt _something, _but I didn't think it was love. "I dunno."

Haru played with my hair. He smiled, but I felt like crying. _Damn it._ I wanted to be with the Poison I had left behind. My eyes flickered over to him, then back at Haru. He had noticed, but he didn't stop smiling.

"You love me, too," he announced with such certainty that I couldn't deny it. "I got to you. But you loved me before, didn't you? You loved me; I knew you did. But once your father promised you to me, I knew you'd never admit it, you stubborn little girl."

I frowned and denied his words, angry that they were true.

He kissed me again, and my face went red with embarrassed happiness as I kissed him back. However, I still liked the color red more than any other.

I wanted to pull away, but I couldn't. I wished for a moment that Haru would just die. When that thought passed through my mind, I hated myself.

He pulled away. "You're hesitant."

It was my eyes that gave me away. The sadness of uncertainty that they held made him mirror my look. He pulled away from me, but he wasn't angry.

He smirked. "We're still betrothed."

"I don't love you as much as you think I do," I retorted.

"I'll make you."

"You can't."

"Because you love that monster?" He chuckled as if he found Gaara to be no competition at all anymore.

I growled at his words and had to restrain myself from hurting him. "He's not!"

"He is."

"Not as much as you."

Without missing a beat, he came back with a swift, "I didn't turn on our allies."

"You have no idea what he's going through."

Haru pulled me into a hug and whispered into my ear, "all that matters is you." Then he let go and jumped into the trees and disappeared.

"Damn him," I muttered to myself as I walked out from the tree, smoothing my hair and clothes.

I looked over to Gaara, who still sat against the tree, innocently watching me back.

I forgot all about Haru, because my feelings for him were nothing compared to what I felt for the Poison.

--

Gaara and his siblings- I had learned they were related during their stay here- were leaving the Village.

They stood my the exit with Shikamaru, having a short conversation with the chuunin.

I bounced over, Omi right behind me. Haru walked slowly behind us, his arms crossed jealously, but his face victorious at their departure.

"Bye, guys!" I said, attempting to be optimistic. I hugged them all, giving them all a kiss on the cheek. Gaara's hug lasted a split second longer- and was just a bit tighter- than the others'.

"Bye, everyone. We were glad to help," Temari said as she waved goodbye. Kankuro ruffled my hair in the way a big brother would, and Gaara watched quietly from his spot closest to the exit.

"Thanks for all your help. We could have lost some of our genin if you hadn't come," Shikamaru commented with a cough.

Omi and I nodded.

"Yeah... thanks," Haru added.

_At least he's trying to be polite, _I thought with an aggravated frown. I then turned to Gaara and smiled weakly. I didn't want him to leave.

The three turned and left, jumping into the trees toward the Sand Village.

Haru was still waving with a smile on his face until he was sure they were gone. Then he turned to me and said, "at least he's gone."

I ignored him and walked home.


End file.
